Spiritual adviser at first nitrogen gas execution asks Alabama for safeguards to protect witnesses

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The spiritual adviser of an Alabama inmate who will be the first person to be executed with nitrogen gas has asked the state prison system to take additional precautions to ensure the safety of bystanders and witnesses at the execution.

The Rev. Jeff Hood, who will stand next to Kenneth Smith during his execution, sent a letter to the Alabama prison system on Monday asking for safety measures in case of a nitrogen leak in the execution chamber. The requested safeguards include the presence of oxygen monitors in the death chamber, the availability of supplemental oxygen sources, the presence of ambulances and training on available exit routes.

Smith will be put to death on January 25 for nitrogen hypoxia, an execution method allowed in three states but which has never been used to put anyone to death. The state plans to place a face mask over Smith’s nose and mouth to replace the inhaled air with pure nitrogen, causing him to die from lack of oxygen.

“Nitrogen hypoxia is a new execution method. The use of this deadly gas, unlike lethal injection, poses a high risk of exposure to all bystanders. As such, its use requires special safety measures to protect all bystanders and observers, including Dr. Hood,” reads the letter from Hood’s attorney.

The Alabama Department of Corrections did not immediately respond Wednesday to an email seeking comment about the letter.

Hood and a correctional officer will be in the execution chamber when the warden activates the nitrogen gas system from an adjacent room. Witnesses, including attorneys, media witnesses and victim witnesses, will watch the execution through windows from other adjacent rooms.

Nitrogen gas makes up 78% of the air breathed by humans and is harmless when inhaled with proper oxygen levels. But nitrogen gas can quickly become deadly if it displaces sufficient oxygen levels. The state has argued that the lack of oxygen will cause Smith to lose consciousness within seconds and die within minutes. However, Smith’s lawyers and critics of the proposed new execution method have compared it to human experiments.

The state required Hood to sign a form acknowledging the risks and agreeing to keep 3 feet (91 centimeters) away from Smith’s gas mask. The form stated that in the “very unlikely event that the hose supplying the breathing gas to the mask were to become detached, an area of ​​free-flowing nitrogen gas could be created, creating a small risk area (approximately 60 cm) for the outflow .”

The nitrogen gas would be administered for at least 15 minutes or “five minutes after a flat indication on the ECG, whichever is longer,” according to the state protocol.

A federal appeals court will hear arguments Friday in Smith’s request to block the execution. Smith’s attorneys argued that there are many unknowns about a nitrogen execution and that the state’s proposed protocol violates the ban on cruel and unusual punishment. They also argued that the state violated his due process rights by scheduling the execution while he was still appealing.

The state argued in a court filing on Wednesday that the execution should go ahead.

“Smith admits that inhaling 100% nitrogen gas would result in…death. And experts agree that nitrogen hypoxia is painless because it causes unconsciousness within seconds,” the state argued.

Smith, now 58, was one of two men convicted of the murder-for-hire of a pastor’s wife that rocked Alabama in 1988. Prosecutors said Smith and the other man were each paid $1,000 to kill Elizabeth Sennett on behalf of her husband, who was deeply in debt and wanted to collect on insurance.

Smith was scheduled to be killed by lethal injection in 2022, but the Alabama Department of Corrections had to call off the execution at the last minute because authorities were unable to connect two intravenous lines.